How Virat Kohli changed the face of Indian cricket

2011: India win the World Cup. An excited Virat Kohli, who had carried Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders, said: “Sachin Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It was time we carried him.”

Since then Kohli has carried the Indian team on his shoulders. Now the superstar is on the threshold of a landmark: his 100th Test.

Success is a by-product of sacrifice, hard work and passion. There is no shortage of passion for Kohli. He always wore his heart on the sleeve and never hid his emotions. Never did he let his energy drop after a hard day’s play. He has sustained the passion for so long, despite making his debut in Tests in 2011. It’s a reflection of his character and his love for the sport.

Kohli wanted to be the best in the business. To accomplish that, he altered his lifestyle to get fitter and take his career to the next level. His obsession with fitness and passion for the game was so intense that he sacrificed his favorite food. Nothing was allowed to deter him from achieving his dreams.

“I personally never grew up thinking I have to score small runs, the idea was to score huge runs,” Kohli said ahead of the match in Mohali against Sri Lanka — also the visitors’ 300th Test.

“My idea was to bat long. I used to enjoy batting for long periods of time, try to win games for my team, or try to get a first-innings lead, which is the format we used to follow,” he said.

“These are the things which reveal your true character. I just felt that Test cricket needed to stay alive, because this for me is real cricket,” Kohli said in the interview with the Indian cricket board.

Talking about Kohli’s obsession with fitness, Ramji Srinivasan, a fitness trainer with the squad that won the 2011 World Cup, said: “Be it his skills or his fitness, be is his character, Virat is unique. He enjoyed fitness. He will be the first to come out of the dressing room for fitness [sessions] and will also be the first to do the gym session. He will always be on time. So it became very easy for him to transition to the next level.”

Kohli was not just happy to find the success formula; he also ensured that his Indian teammates followed it. So he changed the fitness culture in the Indian dressing room, a move that dashed the dreams of several talented players. If you are not fit enough, you can’t make the national team: that was the unwritten rule. And it worked wonders as India went on to dominate cricket in all formats.

For Kohli, cricket always came first. An Under-19 World Cup-winning captain, he turned up for his Ranji Trophy debut [against Tamil Nadu] barely hours after his father’s death.

Rohit Sharma, who replaced Kohli as Test captain, was effusive in praising his talented batter.

“As a Test team, we stand in a very good position. If you look at the last five years of our Test cricket ... the whole credit goes to Virat for getting us going in this particular format,” Rohit told reporters. “What he has done with the Test team was brilliant to see,” Rohit added, saying he wanted to give Kohli a “special” victory over Sri Lanka — who have never won a Test in India.

One of Kohli’s best moments was the series win over Australia, ending seven decades of losses. His self-belief rubbed off on the teammates, leading to victories that made India the No 1 Test team in the world.

On Friday, Kohli will start a new innings in Mohali. Who knows? It could be the best phase of his career.

India had produced many batting greats — from Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Virendra Sehwag — who have played more than 100 Tests and have done wonders for team India. All of them have retired, and the latest Indian player to reach the milestone will be Virat Kohli, who will achieve it when he walks out on Friday at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali against Sri Lanka.

All eyes will be on the champion cricketer King Kohli, who is seventh in the world Test rankings. But sometimes rankings don’t tell you the exact stature of a player not only in Indian cricket but in world cricket too. Kohli has scored 7,962 runs in 99 Tests with 27 hundreds, including seven double centuries, at an astonishing average of 50.39.

He has come a long way since his debut against the West Indies in 2011 at the age of 22 and has broken several records in the highest form of cricket. He is the only Indian Test player to score seven double tons in the first 10 years. As skipper, Kohli has scored 20 Test centuries, second only to Graeme Smith of South Africa.

Under his captaincy, India won 40 Tests in 68 matches, which is the highest among all Indian captains. Among the fab four players, Kohli and Steve Smith of Australia have scored 27 Test hundreds. He was only the second player after Greg Chappell to score twin hundreds on captaincy debut against Australia at Adelaide.

He might be 33, but no player comes close to King Kohli when it comes to fitness. It has rubbed off on many Indian young cricketers who are inspired by Kohli. It’s a pity that when he walks out this Friday to play his hundred Test, he won’t be India’s captain. But I dare say King Kohli rules Test cricket, which no other Indian cricketer has done so far.